Something fishy
by Laura28182
Summary: Kira a merperson was caught in a fish net when young. Now follow his life as he learns to live in an aquarium and deal with some people who would love to put him in a science lab. Story better than summary!
1. Chapter 1

**Do you like this story so far? I'll continue it when I get at least 3 reviews. I'm not asking for much so if you want this story to continue please review.**

**By the way. Kira and his family are mer people.**

_I don't own GS/D._

Chapter 1

"Kira. Kira darling where are you?" Via called out in panic. "Kira" Ulen yelled in a stern voice, "come out right now. This isn't funny!" Silence was what greeted the worried parents call. "Where was he last" Ulen said sharply to Via. "He was right behind me one second then he just disappeared."

"Kira" Ulen yelled out yet again even louder sounding angry. Via watched her husband calling for their son. She could tell he was worried. When he got angry it was his way of showing concern well most of the time.

Via and Ulen were both feeling extremely worried. Kira had being missing for over two hours with no sight of him. What worried them even more was that Kira never strayed away from them. He would always be swimming up alongside his mum wearing his cute, bright smile.

"He can't have gotten too far. Hes not a very strong swimmer yet so he can't have gotten too much of a head start. We should split up so we can cover more ground" Ulen said pushing his worry which was increasing every second to the side so he could think logically. "Good idea."

"KIRA" Via called yet again feeling like she was about to burst into tears from worry. "Kira" She called into the seemingly endless blue. "Kira where are you" Via said in a broken voice tears now falling from her eyes though not visibly because they became one with the ocean surrounding her.

Many miles away… "Mummy. Daddy" Kira screamed calling out the only two words he knew. "Mummy" Kira cried tossing around to try get out of the fishing net he was caught in.

"Daddy" squealed Kira squirming only to further entangle himself. Sobs were breaking from Kira mouth as he continued to toss and turn with the ropes tightening around him cutting into his delicate skin and scales. Blood was rising up around Kira leaking from his deep cuts which were worsening as he tried to force himself through one of the nets holes.

"Mummy" Kira cried unable to move at all because he was now tangled so badly. Kira cried from fright and from the pain of the rope cutting into his flesh. Panic arose further in Kira as he could taste the metallic taste of his own blood through the water he was breathing in.

Suddenly the net began to move . Slowly at first but quickly picking up pace. Kira watched panicking unable to do anything as he was whisked away further and further from his parents and his home and life as he knew it.

A trail of bubbles and foam were left behind them from the boats propeller just under the surface of the ocean.

Kira observed his surrounds with fear. Looking up he saw an unnatural looking thing. It was white and shiny. It was like nothing Kira had ever seen before. At the end of it there was a propeller twirling round and round slicing through the water with enough force to cut through bone if it was butter. Kira's eyes widened with fear and he bit down on his lip as he saw a piece of kelp drawn into it and being sliced into a thousand tiny pieces.

He looked away from the frightening sight and turned his gaze to all the other fish trapped in well he didn't know. Thousands of fish squirmed and tossed just like he had without any success. Their scales reflecting the sunlight from above as it poured though the surface.

Kira looked up in fascination as sunlight broke through the oceans surface. Even though he was scared to death he was still stunned by its beauty. This was the first time Kira had ever being so close to the oceans surface and had seen the sunlight so bright. He loved the way that the sunlight danced across the sandy ocean floor and how the light dispersed .

"Ulen did you find him" Via asked desperately after many hours of searching. "No" Ulen said seriously looking concerned., "We should go home and report it to the police so they can organize a search party."

"No. We should keep searching" Via screamed not wanting to leave her baby Kira all alone in the big wide ocean. "He could get killed. There are sharks and other ferocious animals that would love to have Kira for tea. Hes only a baby he couldn't even defend himself! How could you be so cruel even to think about leaving him out there all alone!"

"Via. We can't keep doing this! Its soon going to be so dark we won't be able to see him. We need rest too. Wearing ourselves down pointlessly will not help the matter in anyway."

Though Via didn't want to agree she knew that her husband was right. The sunlight was quickly fading and she was starting to ache from exhaustion.

"Goss. it's a big load today" one of the crew members smiled and he and another reeled in the fishing net to see what they had caught from the day.

"I know. I hope these sell well. I'm, low on money at the moment" the other added. Both men began grunted with strain as they reeled the heavy net up for the last meter.

"There. Done like a dinner." one of them said smiling proudly and wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

During this time Kira had being screaming his lungs out as the boat suddenly stopped and he felt himself moving towards the surface. The net tossed and twirled Kira round and round making him feel sick and cry out from pain as the ropes tightened yet again.

Panic was quickly engulfing him as he rose. He took a deep breath just before he broke through the surface. The remaining water trickled down and dripped off his face and down his body as he felt a totally new sensation. Instead of begin surrounded by water Kira felt something cool brush across his face. He didn't know what it was. It was like nothing he had ever felt before.

Unable to hold his breath any longer he exhaled. "_I'm going to die" _Kira thought to his surprise he inhaled air. He breathed a couple more times. "_I'm not dead?" He_ thought. Although the air was dry and made the inside of Kira's throat itch it was air and it was good enough.

After a couple more minute of lying still and breathing the air didn't feel too bad. It felt almost… natural.

"What have we here?" one of the crew men asked sorting through the fish and seeing Kira. Leaning forward he pushed some of the net and fish aside to see what fairytales described as merman.

The fisherman's jaw dropped in shock not really believing what he was seeing.

It looked like just a normal toddler. Short, messy chocolate brown hair and shining amethysts for eyes but his lower half was that of a fish. Its scales were a light shiny blue with a tinge of purple but at the moment they were smeared with a crimson red blood that was oozing from the deep cuts that the ropes had made.

Finding his voice the crewman began calling loudly for the captain.

"What is it" the captain said. He usually would tell them to go back to work but he could tell this was important judging by the urgency and shock in his crew members voice. "I think you should come and see this" the crew member said gesturing for the captain to join him.

The captain walked forward and looked down seeing a scared Kira cowering. "Now what do we have here. The captain muttered." I think one of you should alert the police or something.

He bent down too touch it and watched with amazement as the creature curved away from his touch. And would whimper when his fingers brushed over the wounds.

The captain been the kind man he was could see the creature was in pain and began carfully cutting the creature out of the net using his pocket knife.

"Hmm. What are these things. Could they possibly like the ones that fairytales described as humans?" Kira pondered to himself. "They don't seem as bad as the stories describe them to be though. This human seems to be quite kind."

The captain had shaggy blue hair which was about shoulder length and drawn back into a simple yet messy ponytail. It appeared like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. He had small, bristly hairs growing around his mouth. He appeared to have recovered from the shock of seeing Kira and he now had a crooked smile pasted across his face that was that of someone with an easy going and friendly personality. (In other words Murdoch.)

"There you go little fella" he said cutting the last rope and gently lifted Kira out of the net and walked to his office with him in his arms where he wrapped him in a warm towel. Using a free hand he pushed some of the items too the side of his cluttered desk to make room for him to place Kira down.

"Mmmm" Kira sounded in comfort snuggling into the warm towel that reminded him so much of his mothers loving hug. Kira feeling his eyelids droop slipped away from reality into a deep sleep.

The captain smiled at how much the creature reminded him of how his children used to be when they were young.

"I don't know whats going to happen to you from now little fella. Your too hurt to be returned to the ocean. So your going to have a long and hard journey from now" the captain said in a sad voice speaking to deaf ears as Kira only nuzzled further into the soft, white towels.

Turning his back on the little infant and walked out of the room not wanting to think where he could end up. Feeling guilty handing him over to people who were most likely to use him as a lab rat and perform cruel experiments on him.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for taking the time too read. I hope this chapter is ok. I don't want to be annoying but I would like at least 2 reviews for this chapter too be sure that its definitely worth continuing. Thanks.

Oh and please tell me if there's any pairing you would be interested in. I might use them in the story.

There's going to be a fair few characters in this story if I continue it so I'll post one of these above most chapters to help you remember what parts the characters play if your reading through the story and forget.

Characters so far

Murdock - fisher man

Kira - merman

Via - mermaid/ Kira's mum

Ulen - merman/ Kira's dad

Athrun - Son of the boss

Talia - cleaner

Gilbert - hotel receptionist

Eileen - RSPCA

Siegel - RSPCA / Wildlife warriors

Ezalia - Mr Zala's assistant

Patrick Zala - owner of theme park / Athrun's father

All of these characters are in GS/D

_I don't own GS/D_

Chapter 2

It was an average day in the life of Athrun Zala. He hummed happily skipping across the wooden bridge that extended over the dolphin pool.

The early morning sun shone brightly from the clear, cloudless blue sky. The water sparkled and the dolphins played happily. The warm summer breeze blew lifting up some strands of Athrun's shining blue navy hair.

He just giggled when a particularly strong breeze ruffed up his uniform and blew his hat into the dolphin pool.

Athrun run his hands down his green uniform straightening out the creases and feeling hot just shrugged his shoulders and jumped off the bridge into the cool water.

"_Ahh. That's nice" _Athrun thought to himself doing a half hearted freestyle stroke to retrieve his hat. Athrun reached out and grabbed his hat putting it back on his head. He smiled when the dolphins came up to greet him. "Hello" Athrun said stretching out his small hand to give a dolphin a pat on the head.

At that moment a stern looking man walked across the bridge in a serious conversation with a group of three people dressed up smartly listening closely to his every word.

Amongst them was a middle aged female with silver hair and cold, icy blue eyes which were narrowed in concentration as if she was trying to remember every word that was spoken.

Another was a tall man with a sandy blonde mustache and hair who was looking very disapproving.

The last of the three was yet another female but much younger than the others. She had the same coloured hair as the other man yet hers was just longer than shoulder length. She was watching the other blond mans expression trying to decipher it

"Yes, yes. Of course we will take it in after some tests. We'll have to check…" the man was saying until he saw his son paddling around in the dolphin pool from the corner of his eye.

"Athrun what do you think your doing" He yelled sharply. Athrun craned his head around to see who was yelling his name and freaked to see that it came from his father or in other words Patrick Zala.

He had dark gray hair that had lost its colour from aging and but mostly stress. His eyes were cruel and cold. They were constantly dilated and always cloudy. They looked dead and it seemed they were unable to portray any emotion besides those of hate and anger.

"What are you doing in there. Get out and go get changed into a new set of clothes immediately. I can't have you looking like that or else your grounded again."

Athrun obliged to his fathers command immediately not wanting to see his father get any angrier. He swam to the shore and jumped out and headed off towards his families hotel room where his mum would be so she could help him choose something else to where.

Ten minutes later Athrun walked into a air-conditioned lobby and strolled towards the elevator.

His shoes made a soft clicking sound on the marble floor.

A nearby cleaner frowned at the little Zala boy who was dripping water all over her newly cleaned floors. Sometimes she really got annoyed by the way she couldn't tell him off since he was the bosses son. Yep that's right . Athrun Zala son of Patrick Zala who happened to own the park. Talia had never dared to say any bad to the boss about anything that was his because whoever had the guts too was fired that instant.

"Sigh" Talia went as she closed her blue eyes before opening them to go fetch the mop from the janitors closet.

"Ahhhh" Talia screamed as she slipped on one of the puddles of water that Athrun had left on the floor.

She waited but she never hit the floor. She opened her eyes to see into a pair of gleaming gold ones looking into hers.

"Thank you Mr Dullindal" Talia blushed. "I thought I told you to call me Gilbert" he chuckled at how flustered she was becoming.

"Um I got to go" She muttered embarrassed realizing she was making a total fool of herself in front of her crush.

Gilbert smiled as the light brown haired women ran off looking humiliated. Brushing some of his long, dark locks behind his ear and turning to make his way towards the reception desk.

Knock, knock. The door creaked open and Lenore Zala looked down at her son who was looking up at her dripping wet.

"Athrun. What have you done this time" Lenore asked grumpily looking at the state of what had being a perfectly clean outfit only an hour ago. "My hat blew into the dolphin pool and O went in to get it" Athrun said as if what he did was perfectly understandable.

Lenore looked at her innocent son and couldn't stay angry with him. "Come on then. I'll get you a fresh set of clothes."

"Thanks mum" Athrun said hugging his mums leg because that's as high as he could reach.

"Here you go Athrun" she said passing him another outfit. "Thanks mum" Athrun squeaked running off in the direction of the rooms ensuite.

Lenore walked back out into the penthouses lounge room. Although she thought that the apartment was over done but that's what she should have expected. Her husband liked to have the best in everything so of course he let them live in the pent house.

She really liked the way her husband would get the best of everything but she was uncertain of how it would rub off on Athrun. She really hoped that he wouldn't grow up to be snobbish and stuck up, thinking hes higher than everyone else because of his wealth he will to inherit.

She looked out the window that covered an entire wall and it looked over the theme park and the sea that sparkled just beyond it.

"Ok mummy. I love you. I'll see you later" Lenore heard a happy voice say before a slam of the door.

--------

"Let us see will you" Mr Zala said impatiently. "Yes of course" Murdoch said retrieving Kira who was totally wrapped up in a towel so you couldn't see him. "Come on" Mr Zala enforced again tapping his foot impatiently on the ground.

"It wouldn't hurt you to say please" Murdoch mumbled to himself. Even though Mr Zala heard this all he did was scowl because he didn't have time to mess around with this buffoon he thought. He was like the other three anxious to see what the creature in the towel really looked like.

All leaning forward with baited breath as Murdoch unwrapped the towel.

All gasped as they saw the peacefully cuddled up creature inside which was sucking its thumb.

"Excellent. He shall bring great profits and tourism" Mr Zala said regaining his voice first.

"No. That's cruel. We should let it recover then realise it into the wild" Siegel Clyne said . "I agree. it's a living creature and it doesn't belong in a cage" Eileen added.

"Are you nuts" Ezalia said taking sides with Mr Zala. "This maybe the discovery of the century and your willing to just let it go. Keeping it here will ensure its safety and we can observe it too."

"No. Putting it through that is cruel its only a baby judging by its size" Mr Clyne said slightly louder.

"Your such an idiot. Why are you here anyway" Mr Zala said even louder.

Kira woke up feeling achy. His sores stung and the bright light from the sun shone painfully into his eyes. In addition loud voice were yelling and because of Kira's acute hearing they were amplified even louder drilling into his head. In addition to this Kira didn't know where he was and was frightened. So he did the only thing he could do in a situation like this… cry.

All stopped their argument to see the little creature letting out loud wails sounding just like that of a toddler.

"Mates. I'll leave him with you" Murdoch said turning around to leave before things got too crazy and before he regretted his decision anymore.

"Ok. Fine. Lets go put it into an aquarium to start off with and see where we go from there" Mr Clyne said seeing standing there arguing wasn't doing the little guy any favors.

Mr Zala and his assistant both smiled in victory.

Eileen scooped the creature up and followed Mr Zala. She being female had her motherly instincts kick in and began rocking Kira in her arms and hummed a little lullaby and too her surprise Kira actually stopped crying and seemed to relax a bit so she continued doing it.

"What do you think your doing" Mr Zala smirked and Eileen who was nurturing Kira. "What. Oh nothing" Eileen said stopping immediately much to Kira's disappointment.

Walking over to the pool Eileen gently placed Kira into the water.

Kira felt slightly relieved that he was back in the water but some how this time it was different. The water tasted funny in his mouth and it made his eyes sting a little.

Kira swam a bit and looked around. Sure it was water but the place looked totally different from his home in Neroh or anyplace in the ocean. It was so empty. Walls surrounded and some glass even though the walls tried to look normal they were nothing like it. There was no current. The water just seemed to sit still except for some places were it moved in one direction. Besides himself and the humans there was no other life. Not even any plants.

"_I want to go home" _Kira thought as this tank was freaking him out.

"See. He looks very happy in his new home" Mr Zala said gesturing to Kira who was swimming around the tank.

"No. He looks lost and confused" Eileen said sadly looking at the poor creature. She felt a bit bad looking at the expression on its face.

"I'm sure hes just adjusting that's all" Ezalia said confidently, "I'm sure he will get better through time."

"Mmmm" said Mr Clyne looking at Kira feeling uneasy. "Ok. But if he doesn't get used to it we will relocate him. Come on Eileen. We should be getting going. We'll check up on him soon."

The two of them walked away.

"Excellent" Mr Zala said smiling creepily. "I want him getting used to humans as soon as possible ok. So then we can have him perform in shows."

"What about lab tests" Ezalia asked. "Yes we'll get to them soon. Very soon…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Sadly I only got one review for the last chapter but never mind. I'm really bored so I wrote the next one.**

**For the story I used that Lenore reads to Athrun in this chapter the credit goes to Eric Maddern and Adrienne Kennaway who wrote and illustrated the actual book. I so loved that story when I was little. Though this chapter doesn't have the whole story in it. **

**Thanks for the review on the last chapter SerenityKaraTinaWolf. (Whoa. That was a long name to write.)**

**Please review and thanx for the read!**

_**I don't own GS/D**_

Characters

Murdock - fisher man

Kira - merman

Via - mermaid/ Kira's mum

Ulen - merman/ Kira's dad

Athrun - Son of the boss

Talia - cleaner

Gilbert - hotel receptionist

Eileen - RSPCA

Siegel - RSPCA/ Wildlife warriors

Ezalia - Mr Zala's assistant

Patrick Zala - owner of theme park / Athrun's father

Lenore Zala - Athrun's mum

Mwu - trainer

Murrue - trainer

Chapter 3

Month later

"Athrun. I have a surprise for you tomorrow" Mr Zala said to his son sipping out of his glass of expensive wine. "Really daddy" Athrun gasped wearing a bright smile on his face. "Yes. We have a new exhibit and I think its ready for you too see. I think actually I know you will like it." "What is it" asked Athrun curiosity written all over his youthful face. "You'll see it's a surprise."

Athrun pouted but stayed quiet. He hated surprises. He did have the patience to wait to find out what they were. Asking his father was no use since his father would never let anything slip.

Athrun finished the last spoonful of his chocolate pudding . "May I be excused" Athrun asked. "yes dear" Lenore smiled giving Athrun a gentle push in the direction of his bedroom. "Thanks mum" he said tottering off to his room.

Once Athrun was out of earshot Lenore asked her husband "so how is he." "If your referring to the merman its doing fine. Hes adjusting too humans too which is great. He's even advancing in learning the tricks that the marine biologists are teaching him. They keep telling me that he can talk but I mean come on. I've never seen him talk. They're probably just pulling a joke on me."

"Really" Lenore questioned. She had met the trainers many times and knew them well and doubted that they would lie or tell a joke to her husband. She was pretty sure they all knew that her husband had no sense of humor.

"Yes. I even think I'll have him performing for the public within a month at the rate hes going. Now please do excuse me. I have some paperwork I would like to complete before I go to bed."

Lenore now all alone was not feeling tired so she went to pull out her sketch book. She loved drawing. It was her hobby that she had to pass the time with.

She sat down by the wall of windows and began sketching the theme park at night.

The moon was full and a shining orb in the night sky. The aquariums were light up bright blue with pool lights except for some creature which preferred the dark.

She tied her navy blue hair up into a simple ponytail using the hair band she had on her wrist. Having hair flop down in front of your eyes when you are drawing gets really annoying.

She began sketching the aquariums, the tall swaying trees, the buildings which stood tall and those that were small, she drew the small lights that were from the cars that drove down the nearby highway. Lenore continued drawing her picture which was becoming increasingly good until she heard the voice of her son say "mummy."

Lenore placed her things down on the floor besides the chair and got up to see her son staring at her with googly eyes a few meters away from where she stood.

"What wrong Athrun" she asked walking towards her son. "I had a nightmare mummy. I'm scared. Can I sleep with you?"

"Oh Honey. Its over now. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real." "But mum it was really scary" Athrun said. "Ok then. How does this sound? I get you a glass of warm milk and read you a bedtime story and then we can see how you feel." "Ok mummy."

Athrun walked to the kitchen in the corner of the lounge room and climbed up onto a stool. Lenore made her way to the kitchen pulling out a glass and the carton of milk out of the fridge and pouring it into the glass and placing it in the microwave.

"So what was your nightmare about darling?" "Um I was getting chased by a giant spider and he, he ate you and daddy. It was so scary. The I tripped and, and then I woke up on floor " Athrun stuttered with his eyes widened.

"Don't worry there's no giant spiders and your father and I are fine" and with that the microwave beeped. Lenore walked over retrieving it and giving it to Athrun to drink."

When Athrun had finished he asked "What story are you going to read mummy?" "Um. How about "the rainbow bird?" "Yay. That would be great!"

The bedroom was painted a warm yellow. It had posters and photos stuck all over the walls. There was a cupboard full of Athrun's collection of stuffed animals and there were also many scattered across the floor which was covered in a soft, cream carpet. The bed was covered in a patchwork quilt with yellow feather pillows which matched the walls.

Lenore sat down on the bed besides Athrun and opened the book.

She began to read -

"Long ago in the Time of Dreams when the world was being born, there lived a rough, tough Crocodile man. He was huge and mean and scary, and he had one thing that nobody else had." Lenore could see Athrun's eyelids drooping so she continued reading.

"Fire! Fire was his alone. Sometimes he held it with his foot. Sometimes he breathed it from his throat. Sometimes he balanced it on his head. He liked to play with fire. Fire was his. Alone." Athrun let out a large yawn and snuggled deeper into the blankets.

"When other animals begged for the fire, Crocodile Man just laughed. If they came too close, he frightened them away. Snarling and snapping his jaws. "I'm the boss for fire" he growled. "I'm the boss of fire." Athrun was struggling to keep his eyes open knowing the moment he shut them his mum would leave and he didn't want that.

"In a nearby tree lived bird women. She could never get close to fire. So she had no light in the dark, she was cold at night and she ate her fish and lizards raw."

"Often she pleaded with Crocodile Man for fire, but every time he snapped back, "eat your food raw!" "But what about people?" Bird Women asked sadly. "How are they to cook their food?" "They must eat it raw, too," croaked the cross crocodile, knocking her away with his tail. "you will not have my fire sticks." "Your so mean," sighed bird women. "If I had fire 'd share it with you." And she flew back up into the tree." Athrun unable to keep his eyes open any longer feel asleep.

Lenore softly closed the book and placed it on the bed side table, planted a kiss on Athrun's forehead and switched off the lamp and made her way to the master bedroom.

She didn't eel like staying up any longer so she lay down in the empty bed. She assumed her husband was still working even though it was quite late. That was another thing she didn't want Athrun to be when he grew up. A workaholic like his father.

"Daddy are you taking me too the new attraction" Athrun squealed as he noticed that they where heading towards the new attraction they had been working on for the last month though very few people knew what it was.

"Yes Athrun" Mr Zala replied hearing his sons question from around his waist level. "Did you remember to bring your swimmers like I told you this morning?" "Yup" Athrun replied brightly pointing to the backpack he was wearing.

Mr Zala drew out a set of keys from his long jacket that he was wearing even though it was summer and quite warm. He unlocked the doors which revealed a large pool in front of them.

There were many seats piled high because of the grandstands which were against the walls which the doors were connected too. In front of the grandstands was a large pool that was deep too. Since this was the far end of the park the sea was just about 10 meters behind where the pool ended.

"Ok Athrun. Go get changed" Mr Zala said pointing towards the toilets and change rooms at the end of one of the grandstands.

"I'll see you later then Athrun" Mr Zala said to his son when he got out of the change room. Mr Zala walked away and Athrun looked at the trainers who were approaching him.

The taller one of the two trainers was a blonde. He had blue eyes and an easy going smile pasted across his face. The other was a brunette. She had shoulder length hair and crimson eyes which had a shade of orange to them.

Athrun smiled as he recognized the couple. He had met them once before when they were training the dolphins. He recalled their names were Mwu and Murrue.

"Hey kid" Mwu greeted doing a half wave while Murrue just said "its good to see you again Athrun." Even though Athrun was young he got puzzled by how two people with such different personalities could fall in love.

"It nice to see you again." "So you ready to hit the water. This new exhibition is the best yet and I reckon your going to have a lot of fun with him" Mwu said smiling as he could see from the corner of his eye Kira was watching them and slowly swimming towards them.

"I would like to introduce you to Aqua world theme park's newest occupant Kira" he said gesturing to the cautious merman paddling around in the water a short distance away from them.

"Lets go say hello" Murrue said walking to the waters edge and walking in. Athrun and Mwu followed and swam out to him.

"Hey. How are you today?" Mwu asked him. "Fine thank you" Kira replied but not looking at Mwu but rather observing the newcomer.

Since Kira had been in the aquarium Mwu and Murrue had begin his trainers and realised how smart he was. So they taught him lots and he could now speak a much wider range of vocabulary than he could have just over a month ago. Though Kira only talked to the people he trusted and the couple were the lucky ones.

"Oh this is Athrun Zala" Murrue introduced noticing where Kira's attention had been focused. "Its nice to meet you" Athrun said, "cool tail" he added looking down at Kira's bottom half. "Thanks" Kira blushed. Mwu was quite shocked that Athrun wasn't all that surprised about what he was seeing. Though Murrue understood. Children had a wider imagination than adults and could accept the supernatural more easily.

Athrun was surprised but he didn't show it much. He being so young just accepted it.

The couple of trainers seeing how ell the two of them were getting on decided just too the leave the two alone to get too know each other better. "We'll see you later than" Mwu smiled and he swam off with Murrue.

"Lets have a race to the other side of the pool" Athrun smiled. "Ok!" "On the count of three. 1, 2, 3 go" Athrun said as he started to swim in the direction of the finish line only to see Kira whiz ahead of him at a tremendous speed.

"So how was your day honey?" Lenore asked Athrun as he walked into the lounge room. "It was great mum! Kira was so cool." "Did you make friends with him?" "Yup. I'm going down to see him tomorrow again." he smiled running off in the direction of his bedroom.

"Don't get too attached Athie." Lenore said quietly knowing what her husband had planned to do with Kira.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter was really difficult to write. Since its based on the Merpeople and they're totally fictional so I had to crank up my imagination a little bit. Thanks for the read! Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter too -furin-a -totalanimelover

Characters

Humans

Murdock - fisher man

Athrun - Son of the boss

Talia - cleaner

Gilbert - hotel receptionist

Eileen - RSPCA

Siegel - RSPCA/ Wildlife warriors

Ezalia - Mr Zala's assistant

Patrick Zala - owner of theme park / Athrun's father

Lenore Zala - Athrun's mum

Mwu - trainer

Murrue - trainer

Merpeople

Kira - protagonist

Via - Kira's mum

Ulen - Kira's dad

Dearka Elsman, Nicol Amalfi and Miguel Aiman - group 1

Sai Argyle, Tolle Koenig, Kuzzey Buskirk - group 2

Aisha and Andrew Waltfeld, Martin DaCosta - group 3

Many miles away from the from the theme park and many kilometers below the surface was Kira's home.

Kira's parents had gathered many recruits for the search party. Kira was well liked among the community and since the Yamato's were one of the more well known bloodlines many had volunteered.

"We thank you all for aiding our search for our son" Ulen said to the crowd. "The most organized way to do this would be too split up into groups. Here is the list of the groups. They will be as the following -

"Group 1-Dearka Elsman, Nicol Amalfi and Miguel Aiman"

"Our team bags the name team striker" the blonde called out punching a fist into the air while the other two members of the team looked away in embarrassment.

"Elsman don't treat this as a game because its not" Ulen yelled seriously and Dearka actually managed to put a serious expression on his face even though it was totally fake.

"Group 2 - Sai Argyle, Tolle Koenig, Kuzzey Buskirk"

Group two nodded wearing determined expressions except for Kuzzey who was looking unwilling even though he had volunteered to do it.

"Group 3 - Aisha and Andrew Waltfeld, Martin DaCosta"

The group didn't have much of a reaction looking calm and collected as usual. Aisha was hooked on one of Mr Walfeld's arms who was chewing on some coffee beans they had found in the shallows of a bay near a human civilization a couple of moths ago. Though they hadn't seen the humans.

"Well that's about the bulk of us the rest can come with myself and Via. Lets go."

"I seriously doubt Kira would be here" Nicole mumbled alongside the others who were fighting their way through a forest of Kelp. "Ok maybe coming in the kelp forest wasn't such a great idea but it sounded good at the time" Dearka said while Miguel snorted. "It was never a bright idea stupid."

"Now, now guys lets stay calm. Fighting never got anybody anywhere" Nicole said. Nicole heard some indistinct mumbling and could only make out some words like loser, crap idea, whatever and so on.

Three hours later group 1 were still; lost in the kelp forest and not getting any closer to the exit. Instead of it getting brighter it was getting darker and more gloomy. The kelp was thicker and it was even more difficult to push through.

"Guys help" Nicole cried out as he got tangled in the kelp for the millionth time. "Nicole you have got to learn to not get tangled" Dearka said annoying tugging his friend out of the kelp. "I'm sorry Dearka" Nicole mumbled. Dearka knew Nicole was sorry that he kept getting tangled and wasn't doing it on purpose so he didn't say anything more about it.

Miguel yelled loudly with impatience. "Dearka you are such and idiot. Why did you even suggest him getting lost in here." "Why don't you shut up. You agreed to it too you loser" Dearka yelled back.

Even Nicole's patience was wearing thin so he finally burst. "Both of you shut up. Can't you see your driving me up the wall" Nicole yelled.

Both Dearka and Miguel stopped yelling and turned to look at him. They were silent with shock since this was the first time they had ever seen Nicole angry.

"Is there anything out there?" Tolle asked his friends as they stared out into the endless blue. They had been swimming for hours yet it felt like they had been going no where. The scenery hadn't changed one bit. It was just sandy floors and a blue horizon and too top it off they hadn't seen a single living thing except themselves for ages now.

"This is so pointless" Kuzzey complained. "Kira's probably dead already so whats the point of looking for him?" "Kira is not dead:" Tolle yelled and his voiced echoed through the water.

Sai just looking out into the ever going blue and looked doubtful that they were going to find him. The ocean covered ¾ of the world and how were they supposed to look that far.

When you have lost something the ocean always seems to get larger as if purposely crushing your hope of finding it. That was what the Merpeople believed at least. They knew once they lost something the currents would wash it away and it would never be seen again.

They worshipped the ocean as a God. They were amazed at its sheer power and might. How it could engulf and drown the land so easily and it dwarfed them so much that they felt so insignificant and it could become quite over whelming when thought about.

"Sigh. Maybe we should turn in guys. We've been searching for hours. I doubt Kira would be out here. We should go back and tell the others" Sai admitted. Kuzzey was a little to quick to agree for Tolle's liking.

"Guys. We can't give up now. Kira out there. We cannot just sit around hoping that somehow he will magically appear. Hes much younger than us too." Tolle fought back but Sai shook his head and began swimming away followed by Kuzzey. Tolle unwillingly followed not wanting to get caught alone because that was extremely unwise to do in foreign waters.

"We should start heading back" Andrew Waltfeld muttered as it was getting dark and his supply of coffee beans had ran out. "I agree pookie" Aisha said kissing her husband on the ear. Martin DaCosta just sighed and started swimming away and the couple following behind him slowly.

"Finally were free" Dearka said swimming around in a couple of circles enjoying the amount of space. "We should probably be getting going. I'm judging that its pretty much night time and all the dangerous creatures come out hunting and we are in foreign waters so I want you all to be on your guard" Miguel said seriously.

"Nothings going to come after us" Dearka said confidently. "Too late to be saying that" Nicole said voice shaking and sounding panicked. The other two turned too look at him and saw that his face was so pale it was almost white. He lifted his arm and pointed behind them. They turned to see dark figures closing around them.

"What are they" Dearka said regaining his voice. "I don't know" Nicole muttered. "And I don't want to find out! Lets move. Were sitting ducks here" Miguel cried out dashing the direction of some nearby caves.

The figures were closing in but they were unsure weather they had seen them or not since they didn't appear to be heading directly for them.

As they approached they could hear a buzzing sound. Flattening against the wall of the cave Miguel peeked out to glimpse something unreal that would haunt his nightmares.

They were like nothing he had ever seen before. Their skin looked solid and it shined unnaturally. They were coloured a dull gray except for the red logo that was smeared on there sides. The logo was made up of what appeared to be a hour glass with a line cutting through it.

Then it struck him. It wasn't the actual creatures he was looking at it was their traveling device he assumed. He had taken up mythology at school and once he saw the creature behind the glass he gasped and flattened himself against the wall shaking from fear.

"Whats wrong Miguel. What were they" Dearka questioned feeling even more intimidated then before since Miguel never got scared so what he must have saw must have been absolutely horrifying.

"Miguel" Nicole said gently stroking one of his arms when he didn't reply to Dearka's question. "So what were they?" Dearka repeated. His voice was low and almost silent but Nicole and Dearka heard the word he muttered as clears as day. "Humans."

------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the read. I hope you found the cliff hanger a little bit exciting. I hope. Cause with my last story it had no cliff hangers or excitement so I want to graph some into this story .Oh and if you did pick it up the logo was that of ZAFT ok. ;


	5. Chapter 5

Characters

Humans

Murdock - fisher man

Athrun - Son of the boss

Talia - cleaner

Gilbert - hotel receptionist

Eileen - RSPCA

Siegel - RSPCA/ Wildlife warriors

Ezalia - Mr Zala's assistant

Patrick Zala - owner of theme park / Athrun's father

Lenore Zala - Athrun's mum

Mwu - trainer

Murrue - trainer

Miriallia - photographer

Lacus, Cagalli - close friends of Athrun from his school

Fllay - tags along with others to get to meet Kira who she takes a liking to

Merpeople

Kira - protagonist

Via - Kira's mum

Ulen - Kira's dad

Dearka Elsman, Nicol Amalfi and Miguel Aiman - group 1

Sai Argyle, Tolle Koenig, Kuzzey Buskirk - group 2

Aisha and Andrew Waltfeld, Martin DaCosta - group 3

Arnold Neumann - Schools mythology teacher

Chapter 5

"Did any group find him" Ulen asked sounding slightly desperate. The crowd shook their heads and mumbled a few indistinct words.

"We saw a whole bunch of humans" Dearka said proudly, "I scared them away and saved the lives of my dear friends here." "Excuse me" Miguel said scoffing.

"What did you say about humans" Ulen asked as the crowd was listening closely to their conversation.

"What are humans" a younger child asked as some others for the town had gathered to hear how the search had turned out.

"Aright here's how the legend goes" a merman starting saying. His name was Arnold Neumann

. He had blue hair and eyes matched with a dark blue tail. He was the mythology teacher at the school.

"The legend goes that once everything lived in harmony. We were gods alongside the human race. We ruled and cared for the land and sea and all that lived in it. One day the gods had a disagreement among themselves which escalated to a huge fight which changed history.

It was that the humans were jealous that the sea covered more of the earth than what the land did. So the humans being the hateful and jealous creatures they were banished us to the ocean. When we were gone the humans realised they lost their abilities to live under water and their control over the ocean. So humans avoided the ocean where we avoided the land. Soon we forget about the time of harmony and went our separate ways each over time coming to believe that the other never existed. Except for us of course because of our superior memories " professor Neumann completed.

"Yes but how did humans get under water if they can't live here" Tolle asked. "Humans have made they're own way of doing it I assume" Ulen said.

"Yes" Miguel added. "At first I thought they were giant creature until I realised that was what they were traveling it. When I looked through the glass I saw them in there and it was water free."

"Yes. We know that they may have figured out how to travel under water but what brings them here. They have never wandered out into such deep waters" Mr Walfeld asked wondering why it hadn't happened sooner.

"They must have got Kira" Ulen said loudly more to himself than the crowd. "We have got to go after them." The crowd not wanting to most likely face the same fate as Kira swam away leaving just Ulen and Via.

"Do you think Kira's ok" Via asked teary eyed thinking about how could a thing like this happen to their sweet innocent Kira. "I don't know. I just don't know" Ulen replied.

---

A year later Kira was known everywhere. He had billboards, TV ads, ads on the radio, fliers, posters and much more. Mr Zala had gone and told the whole world about him. It was bringing great tourism to the park even though Kira hadn't even preformed yet and nobody had seen him in person yet.

Athrun smiling walked down towards his best friends home plugging his I-pod speakers into his ears . Kira and Athrun had become very close friends. Kira never spoke to anyone except Mwu, Murrue and himself. They decided it would be the best.

They thought no actually they knew Mr Zala would use it against him. This was proven when Mr Zala had asked his son whether he could get Kira to give him any hints from where he had come from.

Mr Zala had sent out many mini subs to try and find his home but so far the attempts had all being failures.

Athrun twenty minutes later swam out into the pool to where his friend and trainers were.

"Ok kid. Today's the big day. You are going to perform your first show" Mwu said. Kira nodded knowing all of this already. "Do your best. We'll be routing for you" Murrue added. "And if anything goes wrong we'll be out their anyway" Mwu finished. "Thanks" Kira said wondering what was such the big deal. He could perform his routine with his eyes closed. He'd been doing it for over a year now so what could you expect. "Yeah good luck Kira" Athrun added giving him a thumbs up and a reassuring smile.

"Lets run through you routine again" Mwu said. "Ok" Kira replied with a bored sigh.

His performance was similar to some dolphin or seal show. When Kira when Kira thought about it he felt like it insulted his intelligence. He had to jump though rings, do some flips, slide down stuff, catch and throw a ball, shake hands with Mwu and Murrue, give them hugs etc.

After the practice they all grabbed some quick snacks and they took there place. Athrun not participating in this show went and sat down at the side lines. Kira lurked around the bottom of the pool where it was difficult to see him. Mwu and Murrue would stand up on a temporary floating stage that was floating on the waters surface.

The grandstands were filling with hundreds of tourists wanting to see the show. . Small sprinklers let out water over them to cool them down., Snack vendors made their way through the isle selling what they had.

Kira used his sensitive hearing and listened in to what was going on above him. He could hear that Mwu and Murrue had started their act and were joking around. The jokes had been funny at first but after hearing them so many times they just got really annoying.

Their act went on for about 15 minutes until Kira was shown. Mr Zala had purposely told them to drag it out so they wouldn't see much of Kira and would want to come back to see more.

Some members in the audience were catching on and were getting impatient. Fllay was amongst the.  
She wore a sleeveless light pink shirt with a darker pink skirt. "Come on" She complained. "We came her to see Kira. Not these two fools joking around. "Fllay be patient. I'm sure we'll see him soon" Lacus one of the people Fllay followed reassured. "Well they better or else I'm going to be asking for my money back."

Miriallia pulled out her camera preparing to take some photos. She wanted to be a photographer when she grew older and this was her big gig.

Other people weren't allowed to bring cameras to the show but she could this time since she was being the photographer for a news report on the theme parks latest attraction. If the article made it to the front page she would get hired more often the newspaper editor had told her.

To get some good photos she and her friends had been given tickets to the premier show and were the first tourist to get to swim with him later with the expensive passes which the newspaper crew had also supplied.

She had invited Lacus Clyne her best friend, Cagalli Yula Athha who she considered her sister and Fllay Allster who she didn't particularly like but she had followed her around pleaded to come and even resorted to threats. In the end they gave in and she ended up tagging along.

Kira was patiently waiting until now when Mwu spoke the line that was his cue. He swam with all his speed vertically until he broke through the water now about 8 meters in the air before doing a front Sault before crashing back into the water with a large splash.

The crowd cheered loudly. Miriallia sighed with disappointment as she wasn't expecting that too happen so she wasn't ready to take a picture and readied herself for the next time he showed himself.

The show passed quickly when Kira was introduced. Every cheered and laughed at the jokes. They gasped at the tricks Kira could do. Etc.

After the final act Kira and the others did a bow and swam out of sight from the audience. The crowd was a little disappointed that Kira only had a 5 minute act.

The friends rushed down to the change rooms and quickly got changed into their togs. Of course all the swimsuits happened to be bikinis and Fllay had the skimpiest of them all. Miriallia even felt kind of sorry for the merboy since he was male and it was highly unlikely that her think bikini was going to hold.

"Hi Athrun" Lacus waved walking down to the pool. "Hey Lacus. What are you doing here no offence." "Oh were here to swim with Kira." "Really. Cool."

"So who is this" Fllay asked since she didn't hang out with Lacus and her group of friends at school . "Oh this is Athrun" Lacus smiled. "Hes one of my friends from school."

"What ever" Fllay said already losing interest in him. "So when do we get to go swimming? I'm getting hot from just standing around here in the sun."

"Um is that all your wearing Athrun questioned looking down at her attire. "Yes. Do you have a problem with that you sick pervert" she said adding the snide remark about him in regards to where he was looking.

Even though Fllay was still only about ten like the others she was very well developed and filled out her bikini. Eep!

"No. I don't but Kira does get a little shy around girls and I don't think that will help the matter." Fllay just ignored his comment and just insisted that they could go in now.

Kira cautiously swam toward Athrun who had entered the water. Only a couple of minutes ago Mwu had told him that he was going swimming with some humans.

"Kira" Athrun called seeing Kira watching them with his glowing amethysts a couple of meters away.

All the girls turned to see Kira bobbling up and down in the water looking directly at them. Miriallia began swimming towards him.

Kira didn't seem to mind the girls after a while. They played, laughed, swam around and all was well until it broke. The strap on Fllay's bikini snapped . All blushed madly. Especially the boy and from fright Kira swam away.

"See I told you that would happen" Athrun said as the girl tied a knot to fix the strap. "Oh now you scared him away" Lacus said looking disappointed. "Hmm. I would have liked to have got some more photos but I'm sure these will be fine" Miriallia said scrolling through the photos she had taken.

"But we want to see more" Fllay said as she had taken a liking to Kira. "Well then maybe you shouldn't have scared him away" Athrun retorted.

"Well its been nice spending the day with you Athrun. I'll see you at school. Alright" Lacus smiled. Lacus then waved in Kira's direction to her surprise waved back and gave her one of his rare smiles. Though Athrun didn't understand why, he felt a sharp jab of jealousy stab into him when Kira gave Lacus one of his special smiles which were supposed to be reserved for him. And him alone…

----

Thanks for the read. I would really appreciate reviews. Thanks for the review on the last chapter totalanimelover. Totalanimelover and I decided that the machines in the last chapter were mini subs ok. I hope you enjoyed the legend too. I made it up all by myself. (So proud )


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

3 months later

"What!?" Athrun cried out devastated. "Athie baby, it will only be for a couple of years," Lenore cooed to her distressed son. "But I don't want to go!" Athrun whined putting on a pout. "Your father thinks it's for the best and so do I," Lenore said stroking Athrun's hair that he had inherited from her.

"But mummy, I don't want to go to college. It' so far away. Why can't I stay at the school I'm already at?" "This school offers a better education and it will open up more possibilities for your future."

"I hate you!" Athrun yelled tears welling up in his eyes. He turned his back on her and ran to his room, slamming the bedroom door behind him.

Athrun curled up under his blankets crying. "_Why do I have to go? I'm happy with the school I am already going to, and I have lots of friends where I am right now. What about Kira? How can I tell him that I'm leaving? I'm Kira's only friend and now I am preparing to desert him. No, I'm not deserting Kira. I will be back. But how am I supposed to tell Kira that I would be gone for so long? I hate seeing Kira cry. But I know there are probably going to be lots of tears shed over my departure…" _Athrun mused to himself.

Athrun hoisted himself up and walked out of the room. His mum being the arty person she was had a closet full of art supplies. Athrun opened this cupboard and scooped the lot of it into his arms and carried them over to the dining table where he dropped them. They made a loud clatter and spread all over the table rolling or tumbling in different directions.

Lenore heard a loud clatter somewhere in the distance and she made her way over to the source of the sound. She saw her son at the dining room table with all her art supplies.

"Honey what are you doing?" Lenore asked as she walked over to him. "I'm making Kira a good bye present," he replied, keeping his eyes fixed on what he was doing. "Oh honey," Lenore said pulling Athrun into a motherly hug from the behind, "I didn't know he meant that much to you. Would you like to buy something for him tomorrow?"

"No mum. I want to make him something special to show him how I feel," Athrun said picking up the glue. "Would you like some help?" Lenore offered as Athrun looked a bit lost, since it seemed he didn't know how to get the top off the glue. "No thanks mum. I want to do this myself. That way it's more special." "Ok. Just ask if you need any help then."

Athrun spent the whole night trying to make a gift for Kira. The things he made just didn't seem good enough so he would keep throwing them in the bin.

When Lenore woke up in the morning she found Athrun crying at the dining table with frustration, and next to him a bin full of his creations which hadn't turned out right.

"Athrun," she said walking over to him. He looked up and cried, "Mummy, I can't do it. It's too hard. Nothing I make looks good enough for him."

"We'll go shopping to get something for him today. Sound good?" Athrun turned around and looked at his mum from his teary eyes and nodded. "Thanks mum," he said, and got up and gave her a hug in return.

---

They strolled through the shops with Athrun sitting in the trolley amongst the groceries, looking into the shop windows he was wheeled past, hoping he would find something that he could give to Kira.

Athrun let out a yawn. He was exhausted. Staying up all night was a record for him. But luckily he didn't have his eyes closed long enough to miss the shop they were passing.

It was an expensive jewelry shop. The window was filled with fancy jewelry resting upon gold and white silk sheets of material.

Athrun's eyes fixed on a piece near the middle of the display. It was a chain choker that had a little green and yellow bird ornament dangling off it.

"Mummy! I found something that I want to give to Kira," Athrun said, smiling. Lenore stopped and looked into the window they were passing. She felt a bit doubtful that she would buy anything from this shop. Sure, the jewelry was beautiful but the prices were extremely high.

"That one," Athrun said, pointing to a choker near the middle of the display.

"Honey, are you sure you want this one? Maybe we should have a look around at some other shops first." "No. This one is perfect," Athrun said shaking his head violently.

"Athie, I don't think" Lenore stopped mid sentence as she saw the happy smile that had adorned his face a few moments ago disappear. "Ok. We'll get this" Lenore sighed caving into his happy face. She knew that Athrun would never forgive her if she didn't. She also hated seeing him so sad and she had enjoyed seeing him smile earlier even though he was leaving soon. She didn't want the last time she would see him in years to have his face shining with tears.

"Ah. Excellent choice," The shop keeper smiled gently lifting the choker and placing it on the counter in front of them.

The shopkeeper had wavy green hair and a strong accent that made Athrun giggle. His name was Arthur Trine. He loved his job and knew everything there was to know about jewelry.

"Its chain is made of white gold. It is water resistant, long lasting, hard to break and it doesn't rust. It has a clasp that is simple and easy to use. The ornament is made from an emerald and tiger's eye crystals that have been shaped into a small bird. The crystals have been tightly attached to each other so it is unlikely they will fall away from each other if handled gently. The crystals have also been polished so they can shine their brightest," Arthur lectured.

"And you can buy it for a mere $500," Arthur stated, and said it as though it really was a low price.

Lenore was considering saying no, but when she saw the look on Athrun face she knew what the answer would be. "Yes. I'll take it to go please," Lenore said, pulling her wallet out of her handbag. She handed the man 500 dollars in cash which surprised him but he accepted it.

"Thanks a lot," Arthur smiled, waving good bye as they walked out the shop.

Arthur looked down at the money in his hand and was filled with happiness. He could finally afford that holiday he had been saving up for years for. And he started doing a little celebration jig bouncing around the shop.

"Umm. I'll come back later," a customer muttered, when Arthur noticed him standing there and watching him dance like a total idiot. Arthur blushed with embarrassment and went back to put the money in the till.

---

Athrun made his way down to Kira's home holding a small box tightly, making sure it wouldn't be dropped.

The little box was wrapped in white wrapping paper and a gold ribbon was tied around it in a fancy bow. It was simple yet effective.

Kira floated on his back staring up into the sky. It seemed to go forever. So pure and clear .The clouds rolled across it ever so slowly, taking their time, never in a hurry or rushed like the world below them.

The sky amazed Kira. He had never been able to see it from his home underwater. It would be something he would sorely miss seeing if he was ever to return home. Kira missed his home but he knew he would be able to pull through if he had Athrun by his side.

Some birds soared through the air cutting through the clouds, looping and twisting. Kira wished he was one of them. He had imagined countless times what it would feel like to be soaring high above the world, with the wind just blowing through his hair.

He was slightly envious too. The birds were free. They had no boundaries or any restrictions. They could come and go as they pleased. The tank that Kira lived in wasn't bad, but it would just be nice to leave it every once in a while.

"Kira!" Athrun called out. Kira looked over to see his friend at the edge of the pool. "Athrun!" Kira called, happily swimming over to him, "I thought you had forgotten about me," Kira joked, smiling brightly. Though when Kira looked into his friend's face, his smile faded at seeing the dead serious expression his friend was wearing.

"Kira, I'm leaving for a while." "For a holiday or something?," Kira asked, as Athrun went on them occasionally.

"No. My parents are making me go to a college a long way away." "What!" "It'll will just be for a couple of years. I'll see you again." "You, you can't leave!," Kira cried, as tears began falling from his eyes. "I'm sorry Kira, but I have too." Kira just cried and Athrun wiped a few tears off his face.

"So that you can remember me, I got this necklace. Whenever you wear it you will be wearing a part of me and nothing will hurt you," Athrun said, trying to reassure Kira, "Turn around," Athrun said, and Kira obliged.

Athrun unwrapped the box quickly, not wanting to drop it.

Kira could felt something cold and smooth being hung around his neck. â€œOkay, you can look now.â€ﾝ Kira looked down into his reflection in the water and saw a fancy choker dangling around his neck.

"So this will really connect me to you?" "Yup," Athrun replied. Kira being very naïve believed him. "Thank you Athrun," Kira said, smiling a watery smile.

"I've got to go pack. Till we meet again," Athrun smiled, leaving.

Kira simply watched, unsure whether to call Athrun back and plead for him not to leave, or to accept the cruel reality.

---

**Yay. This chapter has been edited by - totalanimelover! They fixed up my punctuation for this chapter so I should be better to read now.**

**I was going to include the next chapter in this but I think it would be better if they were separate chapters. And don't worry. The chapters with them as kids are almost over.**

**Sorry that his took so long to post. I finished it ages ago but I've had trouble with submitting. The website didn't want to accept it said there's an error etc.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

The office was small yet the way it was set up made it appear larger than it was.

There was a wooden desk with the basics. Pens, a pile of neatly organized paper and a small picture of Athrun and Lenore from a couple of summers ago. The walls were white and bare with a few tall bookshelves pressed against them. Behind the desk was a large glass panel. The panel looked out over the city opposite the theme park.

Patrick Zala sat at his desk sorting through his papers. It had been a couple of months since Athrun had left for college.

Mr Zala stopped when he saw a sheet of paper that caught his attention when he was sorting through the pile. It was the offer he had been given a fair few times before since the merman had first arrived.

The sheet was very formal. It held the signature of the ZAFT logo in the corner next to another that had a DNA strand . This logo belonged to the nearby genetics center. They had wanted to get there hands on Kira sine he had been discovered. But this was the first time that Mr Zala actually considered accepting there request.

They were offering a fair price that they were willing to pay. In the past he would have made more money out of tourism but not any more.

Kira had lost his spirit. His performances were going down hill along side the plummeting popularity. They were actually losing money from his exhibition. The cost of maintaining the tank, staff etc was higher than the profits they were gaining from it.

All he did now was mope around. And nobody wanted to pay money to see him do that.

Mr Zala skimmed down the sheet of paper until he found what he was looking for. He pulled his mobile phone out from the inside of his coat and dialed the number that was neatly printed on the sheet.

"Hello this is Natarle Badgiruel speaking how may I help you" the receptionist a the other line asked. " This is Mr Zala. I'm ringing you to discuss the merman in regards to the letter you sent." "Oh yes. I'll put Mr Azrael on the other line for you." Beep.

"Good morning. This is Dr Azrael speaking." "Yes this is Patrick Zala." "So you have finally decided to agree" Dr Azrael said cutting into his sentence.

"When can I drop him off?" Mr Zala inquired. "Later today would be great" Dr Azrael replied.

---

Kira swam around in his pool lost. He was so confused.

"_Why did Athrun have to leave? He should have stayed. He could have if he wanted. He just had to express it more strongly to his parents." _Kira thought to himself.

Even though a couple of months had passed Kira still felt hurt and abandoned. His shows were going down hill because he couldn't concentrate anymore and there was no longer anyone there to support him.

There was Mwu and Murrue but they didn't really count. He wanted someone his age. They didn't understand what he was going through.

---

"Kira, here Kira" one of the staff called to him with a pail full of fish. Kira feeling very hungry swam over without a second thought. Kira stopped about a meter away from the edge because they would normally throw him the food.

"Here you go" he said tossing Kira a fish which he caught and quickly began gulping it down. Kira when finished looked up expectantly at the man and then to the pail of fish he was holding.

"You gotta come over here little guy" He said squatting down and gesturing Kira to come to him, while pulling out another fish. Slowly Kira filled in the last meter between them and reached up trying to grab the fish he was holding.

It happened so fast Kira didn't know how to react. One moment he was reaching up to get the fish the next he was upside down and wrapped in a net.

"Gotcha. Now to give you to Mr Zala" He said carrying the net that had Kira inside.

"_What going on" _Kira thought to himself feeling panic arising. Kira twisted himself around so he was sitting upright and peered out through the holes in the net. After 10 minutes of walking Kira looked at Mr Zala who was standing besides a large green car.

This was the first time Kira had seen a car but he knew what it was because had been told about how they carry humans around for transport by Athrun. Athrun…

Kira was gently placed down on the passenger seat and belted in. Mr Zala jumped in one the seat next to him and started driving.

Kira shook with fear. This was the first time he had left the pool ever since he had arrived and he wasn't sure that him leaving was a good thing.

Mr Zala looked to the side to see if the creature wasn't getting bumped around to much. He tried to avoid pot holes, bumps in the road and braking suddenly to make it a smoother journey.

Though he wasn't doing this out of kindness. He was doing it so the lab wouldn't have a bruised and injured specimen . The second reason was that he didn't want the merman to get too scared meaning he might wet himself or vomit all over his velvet car seats.

---

"Thank you for finally accepting our offer. We have been looking forward to studying this creature for quite a while now" Azrael smirked staring at the creature with cold eyes. Kira stared back with wide, purple eyes that were filled with fear.

Kira had never felt so scared in his life. Even been caught in the fishing net was nothing compared to this.

"We assure you, we will return him to you in a couple of years as requested with as minimal damage as possible considering what we plan to do." "Thank you. Its been a pleasure doing business" Mr Zala said tucking the cheque in his coats inside pocket.

"Now lets get to work. You don't know how badly me and my team have wanted to see what you look like…on the inside" Azrael smirked carrying the merman to the lab where his team was waiting.

The environment its self was enough to freak Kira out even if he wasn't in this desperate situation.

Everything smelt sterile. Even the air had the heavy scent of disinfectant.

White seemed to be the only colour things were. The walls, the shining floor and even the coats that people wore. Kira was carried further and the deeper into the lab they went the scarier it was.

They passed over a bridge in a room that had a glowing blue liquid with large steel tanks floating in it. The tanks had a small screen attracted showing the contents in ultraviolet.

Kira was cautious enough about seeing the creatures in the screen and really hoping that he would never have to see the contents outside of it.

"_I really hope I wont ever end up in one of those. No Kira. Think happy thoughts" _Kira thought to himself trying to calm down but he only felt more sad when he tried to think of happy memories because they were filled with Athrun.

They passed through some more rooms. One that was still particularly vivid in Kira mind was the one filled with tubes extending from the roof to the ground. Inside what looked like failed experiments floated lifelessly in the sticky substances. Some of the failures had extra heads and limbs or had some major different that separated them from the rest of the human race.

Kira was beginning to doubt that this was even legal.

"Ok were here" Azrael smiled creepily setting Kira down on the table in the center of the room. The rest of the team moved forward with interest. One had the sense to grab a pair of scissors and began to cut the rope off Kira.

Once free of the rope the team pulled out his limbs and clicked handcuffs around them so he was fastened to the table.

Kira shuddered at how cold the handcuffs and metal binds were against his sensitive skin. Kira opened his eyes and looked around the room only now noticing all the horrifying details.

Pressed against the wall was a metal bench. Upon it was an assortment of utensils, all of which had sharp edges and spikes. Next to them was a tray with a mixture of different needles varying in length and what they contained. Further along the bench possibly what scared Kira the most were empty containers. Each had a label on it. Some of the labels were - blood sample - skin sample - urine sample.

"Like our little toys" Azrael mocked seeing where Kira was looking.

The first member walked over to Kira holding a large needle in his hand. "This may hurt a little bit. But if you squirm it will only make it worse" the doctor said as one of the other doctors wiped a part of his arm clean using a wet swab. With that he roughly pushed the needle into his arm.

"_This isn't to bad" _Kira thought to himself as it just stung little bit. Suddenly the full force of the needle hit him and he felt on fire. He could feel the liquid creeping up inside him burning as it traveled through his body. Kira emitted a loud, high pitched scream and went against what the doctor at the start had advised and began squirming which increased the pain tenfold. In addition he gained some cuts around his waist and wrist from the handcuffs and binds.

"Does it hurt? Good. That means its working" Azrael cackled insanely .

-----

This chapter was really fun to write. I liked getting to describe the lab. Next chapter there the proper age not kids. Please review. I really appreciate the support. Don't forget to read the preview for my new story.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

6 years later

Ulen looked down the list of names they had recruited to go follow the direction that the humans had gone.

It had been a couple of years since they had seen the humans, but now all were older and weren't so afraid. Also the parents constant nagging had got some of the community to come along so they would shut up.

"Via, do you think we have enough volunteers" Ulen asked feeling that the sheet could use a few more names. "Honey, that's all. I'm sure it will be enough" Via smiled sure that they were going to find Kira.

---

Mr Zala stood waiting in the genetics lab reception office.

It was what you would expect the hospitals reception to be.

Bright artificial lights were placed in the roof. The white floor, walls, desk and chairs shone brightly from the light. Peoples shoes made squeaky scuffing sounds against the floor even though the floor was clear of any scuff marks. The air was heavily air-conditioned and the air was very cool compared to the warm summer breezes outside.

A man in a white lab walked through the doors marked **authorized personal only **out into the reception area. He had blonde hair and a brunette teenager was slumped over his shoulder wrapped in a long white sheet that held a few red specks which were presumably blood. The sheet hung very low so it covered the boys torso and below.

"Ah Mr Azrael" Mr Zala said acknowledging the man. "Mr Zala here he is returned in a suitable condition just as you requested" he said pulling the teen off is shoulder and pushing him forward so he fell to Mr Zala. Mr Zala stumbled back a few steps from the force and weight. Azrael had made the teen look lighter than he was by the way he had him casually draped over his shoulder.

"Do you need a hand" Azrael mocked as he saw Mr Zala looking surprised at how heavy he was. Mr Zala scowled. He hated being made a fool of and having to ask for help. But he couldn't turn this down. He knew Kira weighed more than he could handle. "Yes".

"Ok then" Azrael smirked, beckoning some men over to them. They lifted Kira up and took him out to Mr Zala's green car. Mr Zala got in and started the car up.

---

The small group of Merpeople had been swimming for a couple of hours and arrived at there destination. The group was composed of five volunteers and the two parents. This second search really cut out who were Kira's real friends. They were Sai , Tolle , Dearka , Nicol and Andrew Waltfeld; his wife was unable to join them because she had passed away about three years ago.

"Wow" Nicole smiled staring around the bays ocean floor. None of them had ever seen the sunlight so clearly. "This is so amazing. We're so close to the surface we could go through it" Dearka said enthusiastically staring up above him. "I'm glad your so keen," Mr Waltfeld smiled, "because that's just what we are planning to do."

Andrew swam up head then chest bursting through the water and the others followed.

"So where do we go from here" Sai rasped after a few minutes from adjusting to air instead to water. Tolle just coughed his throat feeling dry and scratchy.

"That's where we are going" Ulen said staring ahead of him with shock. "How do you know" Dearka asked, "are you physic!" "No you dumb skull" Ulen said annoyed why don't you look. Ulen grabbed Dearka's head and turned it to look at the large billboard looming ahead of him.

On it in large letters **Water world theme park. Home of the worlds only merman!** Underneath was a large picture of Kira after he had first been captured.

"My poor baby" Via cried out. "That's inhumane" Mr Waltfeld said in disgust. "That's cruel. They're probably treating him like a animal" Nicole said with saddened eyes. "I wonder whether hes still the same Kira we knew" Sai said quietly. All bowed their heads at that remark sincerely hoping that it wasn't true.

---

Kira awoke in a very familiar place. He recognized the taste of the water, the artificial current and the man made environment. He was back in his pool at the aquarium.

It seemed like a lifetime ago he had actually been there. Kira feeling so lost and confused swam over to the corner of the tank and cried.

He had seen things. Many things. He had suffered grueling pain and for what reason.? They claimed it was for science but that was a load of rubbish. What they had done to him was nothing short of torture.

And who was there to blame. Athrun was the first name that shot into Kira's head.

Athrun had been his only friend. His pillar of hope in this nightmare that he could not wake up from. Yet he had abandoned him. Left him alone to monsters who had left him scarred for life, both physically and mentally.

He had lied. This necklace hadn't connected him to Athrun or helped hi in anyway. It just served as a reminder that traitor and what he did. Kira's hand fastened around the necklace and tugged at it with all his strength. It snapped and fell off. Slowly making its descend to the bottom of the pools floor.

---

On the other side of the theme park a handsome teenager climbed out of a bus . His long blue hair blew in the summer wind. He wore a black jacket and black pants even though it was quite warm . Emerald eyes smiled at the sight ahead of him. Athrun Zala was home.

---

Well that was a difficult chapter to write. Its shorter than the others. It was a bit all over the place but meh. It was just a build up to the following chapters. IF you want to know. Athrun and Kira are the same age as they were in Gundam SEED. (16)

Please review.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The park was being set up ready for a new day. Mechanics checked the rides. The stall vendors opened their shops and laid out their items ready for sale. The marine biologists tended to the animals. Everyone was doing their jobs.

Walking down the path to Kira's exhibition Athrun strode. Athrun smiled, looking forward to seeing Kira again and hearing how he had been for the last 6 years.

Pulling out a set of keys from his pocket he unlocked the gates into Kira's exhibition. Pushing them open Athrun walked forward at a quick pace filled with excitement. Though his excitement caused him to overlook the smaller details of the area that gave clues that something had been… wrong.

The gates creaked like they hadn't been used or oiled for ages. The floor had a thin layer of dust and dirt showing that the last time the floor was cleaned or walked on was a long time ago. Cobwebs hung on the grandstand and it was eerily quiet and deserted.

"Kira" Athrun called out seeing a dark figure moving in the pool. Kira turned, hearing his name called. In his line of vision Kira saw a very familiar face smiling at him from the edge of the pool.

Kira made his way over. A small frown was written across his face.

Athrun looked closer at his friend and saw how different he was. His body was larger and more filled out now. Muscles had developed on his chest to making him look more manly than before, but his body shape was still more inclined in the feminine direction. His hair had grown thicker and longer. But his skin had lost its tan. It was like he hadn't seen the sunlight in years (which he actually hasn't until yesterday.) Kira's eyes were still the same though. Shining amethysts like before but they no longer portrayed joy and happiness. They seemed slightly darker than before and showed fear, hurt and hate.

"Hey Kira how have you been" Athrun said cheerfully wadding out into the pool, not caring if he got his pants wet. "What kind of a question is that" Kira replied in a hurt tone.

"Athrun what do you mean by that! How could you leave me here all alone to suffer? You were my only friend and you deserted me," Kira cried out in a strangled voice. "What" Athrun said sounding extremely confused. "Athrun don't lie! Stop teasing me! You knew what your father had planned and you still left" Kira accused. Athrun just stayed silence not knowing what Kira was going on about.

"Athrun, I HATE YOU" Kira yelled at the top of his voice spilling out all the pain he had suffered the last 6 years onto Athrun. With that he turned and swam underwater so Athrun would leave him alone.

Athrun ran a hand through his blue locks. "Ok. Maybe I should ask Mwu and Murrue" Athrun muttered to himself. Glancing back at his friend again seeing he was still ignoring him, Athruns turned and left.

---

The group of Merpeople surfaced at the edge of the pool underneath the sign and looked forward. They looked around ahead of them and saw a large pool surrounded by two grandstands. In the middle of the two grandstands there was a set of large gates.

They looked closer at the strange unnatural environment and saw a figure emerge from the water.

He had chocolate brown hair and he turned around by coincidence and looked straight ahead at the group of Merpeople who were peering at him from the other side of the pool. Via gasped and almost passed out. It was her Kira alright. She would recognize his eyes anywhere.

"Kira" Ulen called. Kira stared in shock. He hadn't seen any of those faces in years. "_This must be a dream" _Kira thought to himself. Checking this wasn't just a dream like all the other times he had seen his friends and family he pinched himself. "Ouch" Kira yelped rubbing the red mark on his skin. "Ok. This is not a dream then" Kira said to himself. Suddenly Kira smiled brightly feeling an extreme burst of happiness.

Kira swam forward quickly heading for his friends and family.

"Kira" Via whispered reaching forward to cup a hand on Kira's cheek. "Mum, dad, friends," Kira managed to say in his state of complete happiness. "That's right honey. Where here for you" Via smiled feeling joyful that she was reunited with her son. "How? I can't believe it," Kira cried out, tears of joy running down his face.

Kira looked around the group and saw all of his old friends beaming faces. "Are you ok?" "Did they treat you alright." "Your so much bigger now." "Everyone. Quiet. We can catch up later right now we need to find a way to get Kira out," Ulen said. "Wait, I think I might be able to jump the edge of the pool! " Kira exclaimed. "Really?," Dearka said in awe. "Yep," Kira replied, "I'll need to get run up first so I have the speed."

At that moment Athrun followed with Murrue and Mwu walked into the aquarium wanting to talk things out with Kira. All three gasped as they saw Kira at the fence speaking with others. "Oh no" Murrue mumbled shocked. "KID STOP" Mwu yelled running forward.

"Kira hurry" Nicole and Tolle cried. Kira swam back as fast as he could trying to get a decent amount of space.

"Gotcha" Mwu said surprising Kira as he latched onto him. "No, Mwu let go of me" Kira yelled tossing and squirming trying to get out of Mwu's strong grip, "I need to be with my family!". "We are you're family," Athrun cried from the side lines. "Get out here and help me, just don't stand there," Mwu yelled sounding desperate with exhaustion. More splashing sounded as Athrun and Murrue ran out into the water.

Kira not wanting to spend another day in this tank, he kicked and squirmed even harder. An elbow smashed into Mwu nose blood pouring out. Pushing himself out of Mwu's slackened grip he began swimming as fast as he could. Although Kira felt guilty about doing that to Mwu, since Mwu had been like a big brother to him, he didn't have time to turn back and check he was alright.

Kira cleared his thoughts, concentrating, he raced forward with all his might. Turning sharply upwards Kira flew out from the water high into the air. The wind whistled in his ears and it blew his hair back behind him. "_Now this is what it is like to be a bird"_ Kira thought as he soared over the edge of the pool. Descending he splashed into the water on the other side.

"Awesome" Dearka complimented "Come on. Lets go" Mr Waltfeld said. Once underwater Kira realised how much he had missed it. It was so much better than the chlorine filled water.

---

"Mwu, Oh my goss Mwu," Murrue cried out seeing the blood pouring from his nose. Murrue pulled Mwu into a big hug and began stroking his blonde hair. Even though Mwu was in a great deal of pain he still enjoyed been pressed against Murrue's chest.

Athrun scowled staring in the direction that Kira had been heading. "Kira" Athrun said in a quiet yet deadly voice. He clenched his fists so hard they began to bleed from his nails digging into his skin.

"How could you do this to us. And even more so me," Athrun mumbled in that voice again, "I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU STABBED ME IN THE BACK!" Athrun's cry echoed throughout the park. Turning Athrun ran off.

---

**Every chapter seems to just get harder to write. The first chapters are way easier because your just building the scene and developing the characters and their relationships. But in the later chapters you have to make the problem and that kind of thing to keep the story interesting.**

**I hope the fighting scene was a bit exciting. Remember this is only my second story. **

**Also please review. I haven't been getting many for last two chapters I think. Is anybody still reading this story. I'm really hoping that I can get 24 or more for this story so I have as many as my last. That way I know that at least this story is as good as the last one. **

**Oh and a big hug for Kiheada.Ray.T. for being really supportive of this story. Thanks to everyone who has commented on this too. **


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The room was large and dimly lit. The walls were metal as was the floor and the table in the center of the room. A large and long neon light hung above the table. Underneath it sat the theme parks board council and higher ranking staff. Sitting at one side of the table was Ray Yuki, Ezalia, Mwu, Murrue, Gilbert and the newest member Athrun. On the other side of the table an angry and annoyed man paced back and forth.

"I can't believe he got away" Mr Zala yelled, slamming a fist down onto the metal table, causing a large bang. Mr Zala removed his hand and continued pacing. A large dent left in the metal table.

"How did he get away!" Mr Zala screamed. "Well, sir, he jumped the fence" Ray Yuki began to explain as if it was the simplest thing ever. "Yes, I know that" Mr Zala said impatiently. "What I mean is since when was he so smart? No normal animal would have the intelligence to figure that out" Mr Zala said musing to himself.

"But sir. He was no animal. The lab results showed that he was partly human so of course he was smart" Mwu said, although he sounded muffled, from the large bandages that were wrapped around his nose where Kira had elbowed him.

"What lab results" Mr Zala yelled, eyes widening at this new piece of information. "The lab sent us some copies of what they found. Didn't you get one?" Mwu asked wondering why he hadn't received one. "No, of course I didn't. If I did then I wouldn't be asking about it would I!" "Maybe you would" Mwu reasoned. "Of course I wouldn't you idiot. What do you take me for?!" Mr Zala said in a deadly voice. He stopped pacing and curled his hand into a fist, wanting to break that fools face.

"Father" Athrun said to Mr Zala, knowing what his father hoped to do to Mwu. "What did you call me" Mr Zala snarled. "I'm sorry sir" Athrun said straightening up in his chair and having half a mind to salute for some strange reason.

"We will worry about this later but now we need to find him. Even if he didn't perform he is still of great worth. At the very least I'm sure a collector would pay a generous amount to get their hands on him."

"Sir. How do you plan to find him?" Ray Yuki asked. Mr Zala shot a cold glare at Ray. He was getting on his nerves. Ray noticed the look and gulped. He decided it may be for the best if he was to keep his mouth shut for awhile.

"I suggest we use the mini subs we have. They were of great use to us on our last search" Mr Zala said. "But sir, we didn't find anything. It was a complete waste of time and money" Ray slipped. He quickly covered his mouth with his hands. He really didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Mr Zala's hands clenched tightly. He wanted to ring Ray's neck so badly. But he decided against it. Having to hid his dead body and dealing with the police would just be another job on his already tight schedule.

"Ok. The mini subs it is" Athrun said, breaking the tension in the room.

---

A set of about five mini subs sat in a row just in the shallows of the ocean. The sun was no longer seen as large, dark gray storm clouds covered the sky. Cold rain poured down relentlessly making it difficult to see anything that was about fifteen meters ahead of you and further. The sea was an iron gray. The waves were large and rough from the strong wind that cut through the air. Watching the sea move so much made Athrun dizzy.

Even in the weather Mr Zala had refused to call off the search. He was so caught up with catching Kira, he was at the point of being obsessed.

"Come on Athrun" Murrue called through the howling wind and rain. Athrun trod forward jumping in the min sub, Murrue jumping in also and closed the door behind them.

Athrun moved forward and sat and strapped himself in one of the passengers seats. He was extremely grateful that it was heated inside. "Ready to go" Murrue questioned strapping her self in. "Yes" Athrun replied determined to find Kira and bring him back where he belonged.

---

Kira swam through a familiar place that he had longed to be for many years. He couldn't help but smile. He felt so at home here. Surrounded by family and friends. Well most of them.

"Hey kid, you alright" Mr Waltfeld asking, swimming alongside Kira. "I'm fine thanks. I was just thinking" Kira replied, clearing his mind and smiling at Mr Waltfeld. "So what was it like up there" Dearka asked pulling up on Kira's other side. "Its better down here," Kira said in a serious voice. Noticing that Dearka was opening his mouth to speak again, Kira said "I'll just leave it at that", not wanting to go into anymore detail at the moment. It was too painful to think about.

"So what are you eating" Kira questioned regarding to what Mr Waltfeld had been chewing non stop since he had escaped. "Oh these" Mr Waltfeld said showing Kira some brown things in the palm of his hand. "I found them. They are always just at the bay a couple of miles from here. I called them coffee beans." "Coffee beans" Kira repeated unsure whether he had heard right. "It's a weird name, don't cha think" Dearka commented. "Well the next time you find something new, you can name it" Mr Waltfeld stated grumpily, tossing another one into his mouth. Dearka just pouted.

"Do you want to try one" Mr Waltfeld offered holding one up for Kira to take. "Um, I suppose" Kira said sounding unsure. Chewing it a bit Kira decided it was not his kind of thing. It was very strong and had an intense flavor. Mr Waltfeld laughed at the expressions Kira was pulling while he tried to finish his coffee bean.

"So what do you think? Aren't they the best or haven't you developed a liking for such adult beverages." Grimacing Kira turned to look at Dearka. At least he should have given him warning to how these … things tasted.

---

11 hours later

Athrun let out a large yawn making his way back to the front of the mini sub coming back from another one of his toilet breaks. _(Yes the min sub does have a toilet. It just empties into the ocean when flushed ok!)_

"This place is so amazing" Murrue said in awe staring through the window. "Yeah.. Ok.. suppose" Athrun mumbled. He felt so bored. The scenery has lost its interest from Athrun. He had got sick of it after the first hour.

"Really just look at it" She exclaimed as the sub had just passed a large kelp forest. Looking out the other side she saw a series of caves covered with coral of all different colours.

They continued driving forward and the surroundings were just getting even more spectacular. Athrun waking up from a small nap looked outside the window and his eyes widened. It was so dark and gloomy. There was very little light except for that coming out of the mini sub's headlights. Athrun didn't want to think about how deep they were. He was sure from this depth you couldn't see the surface and if they broke down it would be a long time for someone to find them.

Gasping both Murrue and Athrun almost passed out from shock at what was ahead of them. It seemed like it appeared out of no where. But was probably just because they couldn't see anything to far away from them because it was just so dark. And also that was a well known characteristic of the ocean.

There was light coming from somewhere other than the mini sub's light. "Hey Murrue, could you please turn off the subs lights for a second" Athrun asked politely. "Yes" Murrue murmured also noticing the unknown source of light. She switched off the lights to reveal an amazing sight.

On the edges of what appeared to be a road was lights which also dangled in many other places. The lights glowed eerily. They were a glowing blue and when Athrun peered more closely at a light he noticed it was moving. Many little glowing worms squirmed around in the light cases.

Lit up in front of them was just like the myth about the city of Atlantis but there was one difference, this was real.

Large rock towers were piled high towering high above them. They looked very similar to the structures that Aztec's had constructed in the past but these had varied obviously because they were underwater. Sea grass and kelp had grown of the rocks which gently swayed in the oceans small current.

In the structures were what looked to be small rooms with one wall missing so that it was open for you to look into. These appeared to be something's homes. Each varied slightly. Some were decorated with many fancy shells which adorned the walls others had scattered on the floor, what Athrun thought looked like toys but for underwater people. Then it struck him. This was Kira's birth place. Where all the other Merpeople lived.

Athrun's suspicion was proven to be correct when he saw movement all around them stirring in the shadows. In the distance he could see the silhouettes of figures with fish tails cautiously making their way towards them.

"Athrun" Murrue said sounding slightly fearful. Athrun felt nervous too. Their number was a bit intimidating but what made it worse was many were carrying sharp tridents.

"I think we should get going" Murrue said reaching for the handbrake to release it. "NO" Athrun sharply spoke slapping Murrue's hand away from it. "We are here to find Kira and we're going to finish what we started!" A understanding look was shot in Athrun's direction. "Look Athrun. I know you miss Kira, but I'm sure being here is the best for him. This is were his family and friends are" Murrue explained.

"I'm going to get Kira back. And no, this is not the best place for him. He belongs back with us. We're his family" Athrun cried. Murrue was about to respond but she was cut short when a large bang sounding in the mini sub and it swayed slightly.

Both peered fearfully out the window and saw the Merpeople charging into the mini sub with their tridents. The mini sub was strong but it was not built for this sort of thing. Another loud bang echoed through the sub and this time a small indent appeared on the wall. All Murrue and Athrun could think to do was watch as the dent became larger and larger and they began charging into the other side too.

"It doesn't want to move" Murrue cried out in panic, pressing down on the accelerator and just hearing the sound of the engine going but no movement was occurring.

Shinn Asuka smirked proudly at his handy work. He watched the mini sub tried to drive away but it was being held back by the chain he had tied to it and connected to a stone building. "I knew this chain would come in handy" Shinn said knowingly to Miguel who was standing next to him. "What ever" Miguel sighed, rolling his eyes.

"_Kira please help us" _Athrun thought to himself desperately.

Unknown to anybody, a group of Merpeople swam into the city. Kira smiled with happiness. He was finally away from above the water, humans and everything they own. Or so he thought.

_---_

**This chapter was much more fun to write. I loved describing the city. I hope you see it the way I do. **

**Just as a fun fact there have been 33 Gundam SEED / Destiny characters. And all the characters so far have been from the series. I'm actually running out. **

**If you don't know who Ray Yuki is, hes from GS and hes the instructor from military school and hes the one who informs Athrun of operation spit breaks failure and Lacus Clyne's betrayal to the plants. We don't really know his personality so I just kinda made it up. **

**Regarding where Mr Waltfeld finds his precious coffee beans the bay he gets them from has some restraunts . One of which is a coffee shop. I suppose sometimes they end up in the water??? If you can think of a better explanation tell me. **

**Thanks a million for all the reviews on the last chapter. I really appreciate it. A big hug for everyone who reviewed. Please review this chapter too if your not too busy. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kira was smiling, feeling joyful that he was finally returning home and was in the company of his friends and family. "Something's wrong," Mr Waltfeld said seriously looking around. They had been swimming through the city for five minutes now and there wasn't a sign of anybody else which was extremely unusual.

Hearing the seriousness of Mr Waltfeld's voice, the smile on Kira's face was wiped clear, "Whats wrong?" "It shouldn't be this quiet or deserted," Nicole explained looking around him attentively. "Oh," came Kira's soft replied and he too felt very tense and looked behind him out of instinct.

"Don't worry Kira, I'm sure its nothing," Via reassured. She didn't have enough emotion left to be worried. She was still too happy with being reunited with her son.

"Hey whats that?" Sai asked. "Whats, what?" Dearka questioned. "Listen," Sai replied. All did as he said and a very distant whistle could be heard. "I wonder what it is? Tolle said. "Whats that" Nicole cried pointing high in the distance.

Seen by the group was a large column of light moving upwards until it burst high above them in a shower of colour. "Lets find out!" Dearka said enthusiastically already swimming in the direction the sound. "Looks like we don't have a choice," Mr Waltfeld sighed and all went to follow Dearka.

---

"Oh shit," Athrun swore as the water had risen to his ankles. "Don't just stand there, help me!" Murrue cried out, trying to duck tape the leaks in the walls. Athrun waded his way over in the cold rising water and grabbed another tape.

Athrun and Murrue flopped down in there chairs. "So what now?" Athrun asked. Sighing Murrue just looked around the mini sub and knew they were in trouble.

The floor was filled ankle high with freezing cold water. Duck tape was stuck all over the walls to cover the leaks which didn't work properly, but at least it slowed the water down. Murrue knew this would limit their time until water filled the mini sub. Red lights flashed alerting the crew of how badly damaged the mini sub was making the room look like a scene out of an action movie.

"At least we scared the Merpeople away" Murrue said, "it was very clever of you to think of using a flare to scare them away." Athrun just smiled awkwardly. He had actually done it on accident. He had fell on the dashboard from the mini sub rocking and fell against that button.

"So what now?," Athrun asked, flopping down into the chair next to Murrue and kicking his feet up onto the dashboard, resting his hands behind his head. "We could contact the others" Athrun suggested. Murrue looked out the window. "No" she stated firmly. "Huh. Why not" Athrun asked, confused. "Well look at this place. Although this is an amazing discovery I think it is something we should keep to ourselves." Athrun silently agreed. This was Kira's home and if he was to tell his father it would be ripped to pieces and all that lived in it would have no home.

"Well. First of all I think we should go into the water and look at whats stopping the sub from moving" Murrue said after a long period of silence…. "WHAT! Are you nuts! There might still be Merpeople out there!" Athrun cried out staring at Murrue with shocked eyes. "What other choice do we have…"

---

"Wow!" Dearka said in awe, his eyes widened with amazement. "I don't think we should go any closer," Nicole mumbled, from where he was cowering at the back of the group. "Don't be a scaredy krill, Nicole," Dearka teased swimming forward.

"Is it meant to looks like that?" Tolle questioned, seeing all the dents and scratches that were in the metal. "I don't think so," Kira said slowly. The group watched as Kira moved forward. "Kira, I don't think you should go that close," Via said reaching out to hold her son back. He just continued swimming forward, his mothers hand just lightly brushing his arm which came to rest limply at her side.

Kira approached the mini sub with a blank expression as not believing it was really there.

"_It has to be a dream," _Kira thought to himself. He had finally escaped it or so he thought. Now it had come back to haunt him.

Suddenly the back of the mini sub began to lower. All froze in shock, unsure what was about to happen. Out of the back of the mini sub two figures in black came out.

Sai's eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of his head. What was coming out of the mini sub was horrifying and what made it worse was they were looking straight at the group.

They had two legs instead of a tail yet the end of there feet were fins. Their eyes were large and shone eerily. They didn't even look like eyes. Two large metal things were set upon the creatures backs. Like the eyes, they didn't look normal. Pipes twisted and turning grew out of the large things set upon their backs. Where your mouth would normally be a dome of transparent, shining material was covering that area connected to even more pipes.

But Kira saw past the suits. He knew who these people were as soon as he saw the familiar navy blue hair fanning out from the smaller figure's head and the well developed female figure with brown hair.

"Athrun, Murrue" Kira said in a unsure voice, "what are you doing here?" "Looking for you," Athrun replied after a moments silent when his brain was registering that Kira was right there in front of him. "Oh."

Athrun and Murrue just looked at each other. "Err. What do we do now" Athrun asked. Murrue just gave him a confused look because she didn't know what to do either.

"Kira," Athrun said drawing in a deep breath his grip tightening on the shining metal object he had been keeping safe in his pocket until now.

"Athrun," Kira replied in a quiet tone. _("Oh you guys" Cagalli calls out, pulling them into a big hug and all is forgiven. Sigh. It just isn't that easy…)_

"So what do you plan to do," Ulen growled, swimming up beside Kira, because he was sick of watching from the side lines and doing nothing. "Yeah," Dearka said swimming up on Kira's other side and the rest of the group joined him.

Athrun and Murrue cowered back a bit realizing that they were out numbered. "Come back. You belong with us," Athrun said bravely, moving forward and straightening up into a more confident stance.

"No Athrun. That's where you are wrong. This is where I belong," Kira replied in a sure voice. "But Kira," Athrun pleaded in a weak voice. "Athrun" Kira said in a gentle voice. "You were and well, still are a really great friend all in all. But this is where I belong. Here in my world, not yours." Turning his head Athrun looked at Murrue and recalled what she had said. Maybe this is where Kira belonged. No. He belonged with them. Athrun shook his head clearing it of all those points which were opposing what he wanted to believe.

"how does this sound. I'll come and visit you every year on this day. Does that sound good," Kira offered. Athrun turned his head back to look at his friend. "Really?" "Of course. You can just come and visit me at the waters edge." "It's a good idea" Murrue wheedled. "You promise." "Of course."

"Well, now that we have that sorted out I think we need to move onto the more pressing matters" Murrue said , feeling a bit guilty for breaking up the moment but what she had to say was important.

"What may they be" Mr Waltfeld asked. Murrue stared at him for a moment before replying. "As you are aware, Mr Zala has organized a search for Kira" she said gesturing in Kira's direction. "And they are searching nearby this area and what if they are to stumble upon this place. Everybody's expression hardened. She did have a point. And to back that, many human subs had been spotted nearby. The most recent one was seen by some students on a field trip to the drop off.

"We could send them in the wrong direction," Athrun suggested. "That's a good idea. It might actually work," Murrue replied slowly as she was thinking it over. "That sounds great. Just one last thing before I leave" Athrun said.

He swam forward until he was directly in front of Kira. "Turn around" Athrun smiled. Doing as he was told Kira turned around and felt a familiar item being hung around his neck. "the cleaners found this in the pool filter. They thought you might want it back." "Thank Athrun" Kira said with a weak smile, turning to face Athrun. "Till we meet again." Athrun and Kira shared a brief hug before Athrun swam back into the mini sub where Murrue was waiting for him.

While they were talking she had found the chain and untied it. Since Shinn wasn't the smartest cookie in the cookie jar, he hadn't tied the knot properly, so it was easy to untie.

Glimpsing out the window one last time Athrun saw his friend joyfully conversing with his mates and family looking the happiest he had ever seen him. Feeling something warm on his shoulder Athrun turned to see Murrue was resting one of her hands on his shoulder. "You did the right thing" She said with a small smile. "Sigh. Doing the right way is always harder than the wrong way" Athrun said in a gloomy voice pressing his hand against the window seeing himself moving further and further away from his friend until he was no more than a pinprick in the far distance.

---

**The most recent one was seen by some students on a field trip to the drop off. sound familiar… CoughNEMOCough.**

**Sorry for the slow update. Schools on again meaning I'm busy with homework and assignment. I found this a hard chapter to write. Sadly this fic is almost over. Though I'll probably do a sequel. Thanks for the review on the last chapter. I really appreciate it. Please review. It means I'm more motivated to do it and faster it'll be done. **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Theme parks council board's jaws dropped when they saw how damaged the mini sub was.

What had been an almost brand new mini sub now was covered in scratches and dents and looked like it had just came out of the chop shop. When the hatch flung open , litres of water gushed out.

Stepping out from the mini sub was two very disgruntled people. Both soaked in water, top to bottom. They also had very pale skin and slightly blue lips showing how cold they were.

"What happened?!," Mr Zala demanded, stepping forward. Murrue and Athrun glanced at each other before they began explaining. On the trip back, they had discussed what would make an acceptable explanation. They decided they would tell the truth. Well a half truth.

"We were attacked," Athrun said simply. "WHAT! By who!," Mr Zala yelled, spit spraying from his mouth when he said it. "Merpeople," Athrun finished. "Is this true" Mr Zala asked interested, his anger at a halt. "Yes sir" Murrue replied.

Mr Zala looked thoughtful. His dull eyes narrowed in concentration . His hand moving up to his chin. "Actually this may be good for us. You can lead us to wear you found them and not only do we get our merman back, we get the rest of them too."

"I'm sorry sir but we never actually saw the city. We were just attacked by a group of them," Murrue said easily, after many hours on the trip back, perfecting their story. Looking slightly grumpy Mr Zala said, "we can still find them even if it is a bit more difficult. And now we know there are more of them."

Straightening up Mr Zala looked around the group of people still here. "All report to the meeting room in two hours sharp," Mr Zala snapped.

---

Flopping down on his bed, Athrun sighed. He was cold, wet and his limbs ached. He, with much effort, heaved himself off the bed and made his way over to the wardrobe to get a dry set of clothes.

When he was changed he set off in a brisk walk heading for the meeting room. When he arrived he found most of the board was there already, except for one. "_At least I'm not last," _Athrun thought to himself, taking his seat at the table.

"Hey kid," Mwu smiled. "Mwu. Its good to see your better," Athrun replied, seeing he had his bandages removed. Although he did have a long scar across his nose.

The doors to the meeting room flung open and Mr Zala strode in. He was wearing a crisp, dull gray suit with a plain maroon tie.

Behind him stumbled in Ray, with his arms full of files, books and other things that belonged to Mr Zala. Judging by the look on his face it appeared that he was concentrating hard not to drop the pile and to keep his balance.

Ray placed the pile of books down on the table and turned to walk to his chair. But on the way he got his foot caught in a chairs leg, that he was passing, causing him to fall flat on his face.

Everyone at the table laughed, except Ezalia, but with the sharp look Mr Zala shot them they stopped. Or at least they tried to. Ezalia like usual, was straight backed and alert. A amused smirk was pasted on Gilbert's handsome face. Mwu's eyes were watering and his face was red from laughing so much. Murrue was giggling to herself, as she had trouble refraining from doing so. A bright smile was on Athrun's face to.

Making his way to the table, Ray sat down. His face blushing with embarrassment and his eyes trained to the table in front of him.

Choosing to ignore what had just happened, Mr Zala set up his lap top and a plasma screen made its way down the wall behind them. Plugging a cord leading from his lap top to the screen, Mr Zala started up a slide show.

"As you are aware," He began, drawing out a stick from his bag items that he had Ray carry in. "Our most expensive and rare exhibit has escaped. On our search one of our teams," all look at Athrun and Murrue, "had a run in with not only one merman but a whole group. Naturally a group this large wouldn't stray so far from home meaning , that somewhere in that vicinity is their civilization."

The meeting dragged on and on. "Ms Rhamious, Mr La Fllaga and Zala are dismissed Mr Zala stated. Athrun blinked at the sudden dismissal but he obeyed.

"Hun," Murrue whispered to Mwu in an affectionate manner. Mwu who appeared to have fallen asleep, just mumbled, " I liek cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze. Mr hotdog." He had a little bit of drool coming out of the corner of his mouth. All gave the sleeping Mwu a funny look.

Shaking Mwu again, with more force this time he woke up. "Whaa, whats happening" Mwu said drearily. "Its time to go," Murrue replied leading Mwu out of the room and into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

When they walked out into the sun light outside, Murrue saw Athrun leaning against the wall waiting for them.

"It appears like our plan worked," Murrue smiled. "Yes and its only… 364 more days until I see Kira again," Athrun responded happily.

---

"You, the most trusted members, get to do a special mission for me," Mr Zala said, when he was sure the others had left the area. "A special mission!" Ray said with delight, "this is so cool!" "Except you. OUT," Mr Zala said, pointing to the door.

Ray got up and began heading for the door slowly. "Ok. I'm going." A few more steps. "I'm leaving." A few more steps "I'm really leaving." A few more steps. "I'm going out the door," Ray said, looking back at everyone, who was watching him expectantly. After a few more minutes the door finally closed. "Ok…"

"I'm certain the others weren't telling the truth so that is why they were dismissed. Now as you should know each boat is installed with a tracking device. This tracking device feeds all its information into a satellite which saves this information. Using this we can tell where and when they went to places," Mr Zala said.

"So you want us to see where they have really been," Gilbert said slyly, liking where this was going. "Exactly. So I will have you leave in one weeks time. But just don't tell anyone. Dismissed."

Owari

**---**

**So how did you like it? Was the cliff hanger for the squeal enough for you to want to read it? **

**Anyway thanks for all the support. Cheers to The Dispirited Heart, Latias 24, Promise, Sakura777, LightofViolet** **and Booboo who reviewed. **

**And a special thanks to SerenityKaraTinaWolf, totalanimelover, furin-a, Kiheada.Ray.T.** **and Sharingan Youkai** **who review multiple times. D**

**Oh and check out my new story. "Her voice." I'm starting to write that one now! **


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